DT 30742

104 comments on “DT 30742”

1. Okay, we all know it’s Friday, but even so… that was the hardest one in a dog’s age.

   Never thought I’d see the end of it, but eventually got on the right drift, and stumbled on to the end.

   Loads of very convoluted clues, but if I had to choose my two of the day it would have to be 22a and the wonderful 18d. Take a bow Mr setter, top notch puzzle!

2. 5*/1*. Oh dear! Sorry but this was not for me. I found solving it like trying to run through treacle and no fun at all but, we are all different and no doubt others will have enjoyed it.

   Somehow I managed to complete it but I don’t think 16a works unless I have got the parsing wrong. A lieutenant is a deputy so number two in the hierarchy not number one.

   Thanks anyway to the setter and to Mr K.

   1. Just seen the cartoon for 19d. It’s made my day. Many thanks, Mr K.

      1. It must be a Cockerpoo. 😊

         1. 😂

            1. The cartoon at 19d put me in mind of a notice on our local hospital door, which clearly states ” If you are ill do not enter”.

      2. My fave part of the puzzle too, and I wonder how many others.

   2. In the Royal Navy, the First Officer, or second in command after the Captain, is known as Number One.

      1. Also commonly used in Starfleet.

      2. Thanks, Jules. I didn’t know that but I see that it is one of the meanings of “number one” in the BRB categorised as nautical slang.

         1. Derived from what existed in Nelson’s day. There were only three officer ranks in the Navy – Lieutenants, Captains, and Admirals. On a ship, the Lieutenants were listed in order of seniority with the most senior, number one, on the list being deputy to the Captain.

3. Just come on the blog to see the pusskits because today’s offering was way above my head.
   Thank you, setter for your hard work but I’m afraid it’s not for me. Thank you, Mr K for making sense of it for me and showing ELP.

4. Surprised myself by completing this suitably puzzling Friday challenge.

   My favourites are 4a (schoolboy latin useful again), 22a (again harking back to distant schooldays) and the clever 18d.

   Just back from walking Lila at the beach in mild sunny conditions. We were at Balmoral yesterday where she made a small deposit on the royal lawn. We obviously followed the instructions in the 19d illustration.

   Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

   1. How long did you make her stay in the bin?

      1. Until she had a royal wee.

         1. Huge guffaw! Thanks.

5. This was tricky guzzle with complicated wording to the clues and admirable misdirection parsing was often done retrospectively after I had fitted a word in that matched the definition. I liked the French playwright Lego clue at 7d and Welsh city, 4a,n the NE . The anagram at 13a was very cunning too but my favourite was the cryptic food offering at 18d. Thanks to the compiker and to Mr K for the hints

6. I liked this a lot, and wasn’t too troubled by any of it. 21a my favourite. A couple of the clues have appeared very recently I think, but can’t remember where. 9a and part of 27a.
   Thanks to the setter and Mr K

7. To borrow one of Brian’s favourite comments – the Toughie has escaped! But, I did find it quite enjoyable and there is enough of a smooth ‘feel’ about it to make it worth putting two of my shiny new King Charles Loonies on Silvanus being the setter. – 4*/3.5*

   If I am correct on the setter, it could easily have traded places with yesterday’s Toughie.

   A pity that, with the celebrity ownership, there wasn’t a football reference for 4a; but it’s not a Scottish team so perhaps it didn’t qualify.

   Candidates for favourite – 11a, 13a, 22a, 4d, and 19d – and the winner is 22a – I have a vague memory of a chant on measurements in Miss Whitburn’s Class at Primary School!

   Thanks to Silvanus, or whomsoever if my Loonies go down the drain, and thanks to Mr K.

   1. Oh dear, I’m disappointed to see you of all people, an experienced blogger, using that phrase! If we’ve mostly succeeded in stopping “read and write” being used to refer to easy back-pagers, I hope we can equally lay this term to rest as well. It’s usually an inaccurate description, in any case.

      1. Mr Setter sir, I thought 22a was just brilliant. Who uses Rods, Poles and Perches? I have stored that knowledge, unused, for some 80 years before finding a use for it!

         1. Me too Daisygirl. Some handy stuff to know using the imperial measurement system like 10 square chains = 1 acre. I could go on… Er perhaps not!

            1. All those old measurements to be found on the back of exercise books. Remember?
               And a tricky but excellent puzzle!

         2. Little did I think that I’d be grateful for those lessons 75 years later!

   2. BTW, does anyone else wonder what happened to Brian?

      1. Cancel and file that comment … I see he just popped up down below.

8. I thought that I wasn’t even going to start this one but finally got a foothold via a couple of anagrams. What would we do without them!? I actually made steady progress and was only held up by a couple of parsings, though a little electronic help was needed. Lots of convoluted and misdirectional clueing but favourite has to be 22a which took me back to the rod, poles and perches of my schooldays. 6d is a close second with 26a and 17d sharing third spot. Thanks to our setter for the enjoyment and MrK for the parsing of 16a.

9. Cor! That was tough but worth the effort.

   I biffed 16a as I didn’t know the term for lieutenant (thank you julesinsussex). I’m not too bad with weights & measures so I knew the distance of 22a but a pole being 5.5 yards was a new one on me. 9a and 28a have been added to my list of new words but both were very gettable.

   My podium is 4a, 7d and 18d.

   Many thanks to the Friday fiend and Mr K

   5*/4*

   1. We were taught that ‘Poles’ go fishing for ‘Perch’ with ‘Rods’ to remember the different names of the units for 5.5 ft or 1/320 of a mile. How very useful this became in later life, along with bushels and pecks! 🤣

      1. Thank you, TC.

         I am guessing you know that an acre (4840 yards) is a chain (22 yards) multiplied by 22a?

         Every cricket fan worth their salt knows that a cricket pitch is called a chain.

         Love weights & measures me.

         1. Yep, I was the opening bowler for Hawley CC for some years, so I’ve chucked the cherry down countless chains in my time. 😀

      2. I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck….. why does that spring to mind?

         1. ….because it’s Doris!

            Once I had a secret love….

            Marvellous

            1. Lovely singer and worthy of a listen. 😊

         2. I think VB from the original Broadway production & the super subsequent film knocks spots off Doris. Of the many stage productions of it I’ve seen over the years (still my fav musical) Richard Eyre’s 1982 National Theatre production with Bob Hoskins as Nathan, Ian Charleson as Sky, Julie Covington as Sarah & Julia McKenzie as Adelaide stays in the memory longest – no You Tube clips sadly

            1. Ok, It’s just that I love Doris Day! ❤️

               1. I remember the Frank Sinatra and Jean Simmons movie. I loved it, I loved the name Nicely-Nicely Johnson but can’t remember who played him. Something also about the biggest crap game in New York – that’s what I call Wordle “a crap game”!

                  1. just brilliant….

                     1. One of the best.

                     2. Fab-you-luss!! Thanks.

10. I didn’t find this was tricky as others this week. I would put it on a par with yesterday.

    4d my favorite.

11. Great, great puzzle, an absolute cracker, perfect for the Friday back page. At first glance it appeared this was going to be more than just “back-page chewy”, but 17a leapt from the page and from there it was a steady clockwise solve, finishing appropriately enough with 18d. Great surfaces, not a duff clue in sight, and I was relieved to bring to mind that GK the puzzle demanded.

    Ticks to so many wonderful clues, but I’ll got for COTD 5d, joined on the podium by 11a and 7d; runners-up 4a, 13a, 22a (SFX of loudly clanging penny when that one dropped) & 20d.

    3* / ≥5*

    Thank you setter for a brilliant end to the week. Thanks also to Mr K.

12. Suitably Friday-ish and very nicely done, with just enough chestnutty gimmes (17a, 19d, etc) to jog it along. 9a and 7d are both super-sharp and 22a’s great fun. As for 16a, it certainly helped to have seen Crimson Tide! Superbly elegant. Many thanks to our setter and Mr K.

13. I found this easier than yesterday and good fun although I felt rather too many deletion type clues.
    Couldn’t parse 16a – thanks for hint
    2*/3*
    22a 18d favourites
    I’m sure we had the cheddar yesterday as well

14. A great puzzle well worthy of the Friday slot – thanks to our setter and Mr K (extra plaudits for the 19d picture).
    I have lots of ‘likes’ including 11a, 2d, 7d, 14d and 18d.

15. Well, to me, it is clear that this is a Friday puzzle and I for one did not enjoy the overall solve. I found it very difficult and lacking enjoyment in the process. My issue I suppose and nothing against the setter.
    However I found many clues hard to decipher with awkward clueing in many. Again, I suppose, just my issue … but it did take away from my solve.

    3.5*/2.5*

    Having said that, there were 5 clues I really liked and thus the favourites.
    4a, 22a, 28a, 8d & 18d — with co-winners 4a & 22a

    Thanks(?) to setter & Mr K. for hints/blog

16. Another grind, but finished with a little electronic help and copious visits to Thesaurus. Some fabulous clues once I’d parsed them ( and got the answer of course) 5d and 18d top spots.
    I’m not sure how much enjoyment I got but it’s always a good feeling when you finish “a stinker” Thanks to Mr K and setter.

17. Can’t say this was a joy, but I got an enormous amount of satisfaction from finishing it. Very harsh of Mr K to give a 2-star rating, IMHO. Had to refer to the hits to parse 16a, but it gave my inner geek a chance to post the clip above

    COTD was 23d because it made me smile, and I thought it was jolly clever. 4*/3.5***

18. Well I’m with MG in thinking this an absolute belter of a guzzle – for me just pipping Hudson’s Wed Toughie as best of the week thus far. Strongly suspect it’s a swift return of Mr Smooth. Ticks all over the shop but if pressed for a podium it’d have to be 5d + 13&22a
    Thanks to Silvanus & to Mr K

19. A thoroughly enjoyable (not too difficult) Friday puzzle!

    Only needed help with 16a … Thanks Mr K.

    Podium places go to 18d, 24d & 14d.

20. Not just Mr T who’s wound up the gear a notch this week! Found this to be quite tricky in places but enormously satisfying when everything slotted into place. Interesting to see how so many of us remember the likes of rods, poles and perches from our schooldays, nothing even vaguely memorable about the wretched metric stuff that’s foisted on us these days.
    For once, the avian didn’t make my podium as the honours went to 22&27a plus 20d.

    Thanks to Mr Smooth aka Silvanus, and to Mr K for the review.

21. Second day in a row where I needed help in the NE to complete this challenging puzzle. I found this on a par with yesterday on the difficulty front but equally enjoyable so no complaints there. I’m going with 22a as cotd for the pdm if nothing else. Thanks to compiler and to Mr K.

22. Too difficult for me today.
    So, no pleasure.
    Sorry setter.

    Thanks to Mr K

23. Hello again everyone. Thanks very much to all solvers and commenters and to Mr K for his Hints and Tips. I must admit though I’m struggling to see how 23d deserved a “detailed explanation” as it wasn’t a complex clue by any means. Oh well.

    RD is normally right on my wavelength, but not today it would seem! The puzzle is tricky, but far from impossible, I’d suggest.

    Any vexillologists out there will be aware that the Nepalese flag consists of two 28s, in fact it is the only national flag in the world not to be quadrilateral in shape. So 28a almost qualifies as an “all-in-one” clue, I suppose.

    May I wish you all a good weekend. See you again soon!

    1. I was very surprised that so many of today’s solvers seem to have raised the white flag of surrender?

    2. Got there in the end, but it felt like having root canal work. Painful at times and glad when it was all over.

       1. As an endodontist, I can state I never hurt my patients.

          1. I’ve had a lot of root canal work over the years, Steve, most of it from a dentist who was so good that the biggest problem was that I kept falling asleep! He had to make wedges to keep my jaw open whilst he worked and I slept!

    3. You beat me today, way beyond my abilities! I don’t normally find yours this hard … get yer foot orf the pedal next time!

    4. Silvanus, I think Mr K’s ‘detailed explanation’ isn’t a comment on the complexity of the clue, just a way of both providing a hint which explains how the wordplay operates (but doesn’t give away the fruit in question) and providing a full explanation (which says what the fruit is).

       With a clue which involves an ‘intermediate’ word like this one (a word that is indicated by a synonym or category in the clue, but then is only partially used in the answer, such that it’s an intermediate step between clue and solution but appears fully in neither) I can find myself in either of these situations:

       1 I’ve completely failed to parse the clue and understand its structure. What I need is a hint explaining that, and from there I can work out which specific intermediate word is required.

       2 I’ve parsed the clue’s structure and have an answer which fits (and often a full grid, which the site has told me is correct), but I still don’t know what the intermediate word is and I’d like to know.

       If the tipster tells us which dried fruit (or whatever) to use, that can provide too much of the answer for somebody in situation 1. If they don’t, it’s no help at all to somebody in situation 2. Mr K’s innovation here is a fantastic approach for catering to everybody.

       1. You may well be right, I’ve no idea. Perhaps Mr K could clarify later.

          It seems to me though that the “detailed explanation” is utterly superfluous given how thorough the hint was preceding it. “Dried fruit minus IN” doesn’t throw up too many possible options to be honest. How many dried fruits can you think of that contain those two letters?

          1. For the avoidance of doubt, I should add that in no way should it be thought that I am being critical of Mr K (or any other blogger, for that matter).They all do a fantastic job. My point was just that I feel there are certain other clues far more deserving of a detailed explanation than this one.

             Mr K’s idea of introducing these extra explanations is a great idea, by the way.

             1. Hi Silvanus

                My guess is that the comma threw many people. Well, it got me, anyway.

                The surface is so blimin good that the solver immediately thinks of a verb to ‘grow fruit’ and thinks the parsing is something like ‘no’ (no = not) inside ‘lea’ = ‘lenoa’.

                I would take it as a compliment that a seven word clue merited a DEMK (Detailed Explanation – Mr K). You managed to throw people off the scent in just seven words.

                Bravo!

          2. Dried peapple?

             1. You mean like mummies?

       2. When I read your sentence in the brackets in your second paragraph, I realise that I have no place in this discussion. This is not finding fault with what you said, it’s just coming down to earth and acknowledging that I’m far too simple to understand most of the rules of compiling crosswords. I just wish I had paid more attention in English Grammar lessons, which I always found so dry, but loving English Literature! I always finished the set book long before the rest of the class!

          1. (It was in brackets because it was a term I’d just made up, so thought I’d better explain it!)

24. Well that was a tricky little blighter but enjoyable too. I needed the hints to parse 16a.
    We didn’t do perches, poles etc. at school but once I got the beginning of 22a it fell into place.
    Top picks for me were 4d, 22a and 20d

    Thanks to Mr K and the setter.

25. My heart sank at first read through when my first entry was 27a. Then I went back and things began to fall into place. Rather like yesterday’s toughie which I got half way through late last night and then finished at breakfast no probs. Some great clues in that – they’ll go in my book especially 1a the A lister song. Back to today, 22a was really good and I liked the French playwright as Ma’mselle Bozman was always getting us to perform his work, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Looms Large in my Legend. Many thanks to Silvanus and Mr K. Have a good weekend everyone.

26. An excellent and toughish Friday puzzle – just up my street! Great clues and a very pleasing tussle. Of many ticked, 18d is my favourite. 4*/4.5*.

27. Tricky, but far from impossible says our compiler, and I think that sums up my feelings about it too. I rarely moan or criticise, as I have nothing but admiration for the team of setters CL has at his disposal, and for once I have to disagree with some of my regular co-commenters as I found this an absorbing and satisfying solve. 22a was my standout favourite.

    Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K, especially for the brilliant pic at 19d.

28. I’ve just quickly scrolled through the posts to get the general view of this and 4 out of 5 solvers gave it the thumbs-up.

    Only a handful didn’t enjoy it.

    So, I’d say that’s a pretty good hit ratio.

29. That was the week that was… no surprise after a tricky week to find a Toughie masquerading as a backpager today. Not that I was expecting anything friendly it being Friday. But having just got home from my CT scan I was hoping for something to enjoy over a late breakfast. But glad I decided to take a look at what others thought and found the lovely 19d picture – best thing about today’s puzzle. Thanks to Silvanus and to Mr K.

30. Good afternoon

    With time having beaten me yesterday and on Wednesday, so no opportunity to sit and ponder the crozzie, today has been a welcome opportunity to get stuck in – but by the cringe! What a toughie! It took me ages to find a way in; thanks to the lurkers at 28a and 8d, I git a foothold.

    Definitely a challenge this afty, and I am not at all surprised to learn that the Brain Of Silvanus has been hard at work here.

    COTD is the marvellously misdirectional 22a.
    Many thanks to Silvanus and to Mr K, whose help was appreciated in parsing 23d and 16a.

31. I enjoyed the battle to complete this very much. It was certainly tricky but for me less so than yesterday. Today I had more time and paid several visits. The north held out longest but I did finally get there after employing all my methods of help. In addition to leaving and returning I find that writing the partial answers out sometimes immediately gives me the word, this is particularly true of down clues where my brain seems to see the word more clearly when it’s written horizontally. I would be interested to know if any of the rest of you have tried it and if it works for you. I may just be odd of course!
    I thought there were some great clues and even the author in 7d was gettable from the word play as I did not know the name. My favourite was 22a. I did need the blog to explain the parsing of 16a.

    Many thanks Silvanus and to Mr k for the hints and pics

32. Really enjoyed this. I found it a bit easier than yesterday’s offering. No need to reach for the thesaurus to check if synonyms were real, just lots of well constructed clues where one could follow the instructions to find the answers. I particularly liked the well-written anagram clues but the forty poles and the Wembley grub get my top spots.
    May thanks Silvanus for a top notch puzzle and to the hard working Mr K.

33. Another crash and burn day! Surprisingly, I did quite well in the east, 16a a bung in and I’m not sure I understand it even with Mr. K’s explanation. I had to “click here” for the answer to 4a, even though I had the checkers, thanks to 4d appearing recently. I liked 22a, very clever, and 7d. West, however, required a lot more help. It’s probably just me swimming in molasses again. I must point out the pic at 19d, forget how hard this was, that made my day and made up for everything.
    Thank you setter, it’s Friday and totally beyond me. Your hints and pics greatly appreciated Mr. K, I’d have been lost without them.
    It is now so overcast and black as night, we can’t possibly be going to get MORE rain, we’ll wash away!

34. Way out of my league. Very little made any sense at all. For me a complete waste of time. Why o why do the DT keep publishing these damn Toughies in the Cryptic spot. All it does is give the experts two puzzles to solve and leave the rest of us with nothing!
    Very poor scheduling IMHo.
    *****/0

    1. Brian, there aren’t just 2 levels of puzzles, but a whole spectrum of difficulty levels. The backpager caters, across multiple days, for a range of levels. That will mean that for any particular solver, that day’s puzzle might be at the ideal level for them, or easier than they’d like, or too hard. But that doesn’t mean it’s a poor puzzle, or even poor scheduling.

       So it doesn’t follow that any puzzle which is too hard for you must therefore be a Toughie. I’m sure many who solved this Silvanus crossword today would still find today’s Toughie beyond them.

       None of us are going to get a puzzle at exactly their level every day. It would be selfish to expect that, and it’s rude to complain when you don’t get one that suits you.

       1. Well said. Thank you.

       2. I didn’t get on with today’s guzzle at all but that doesn’t make it a Toughie. It’s just another one I need to study the why and wherefore of. It’s the same with Toughies. I can solve a few but I need to study them more. They’re all guzzles and there is no point in blaming setters, editors or anyone else just because the puzzle doesn’t suit you.

          1. I agree with all the comments after Brian’s

35. My brain hurts, as Mr Gumby would say.

    Well, it is Friday so we have to expect something special and we certainly got it. It took me ages to get started in the South West but bit by bit, I managed to fill all the blank squares. I got held up in Cumbria because of a silly typo, but eventually the young lady waved her flag.

    Lots to enjoy but 13A and 22A were my picks.

    ****/**** Thanks to Silvanus and MrK

36. I think I’ve said a few times that I’m better off steering clear of Friday crosswords and then I change my mind – this time I really mean it!
    I hope you all have a lovely weekend and let’s see what tomorrow’s crossword looks like!

37. It’s all been said but the good news is that I’ve learned from this. Thank you Silvanus … and Mr K for explaining so much

38. Tough but doable, for me…for some reason I always find it difficult to get on Silvanus’ wavelength, but once I did I worked through it steadily rather than rapidly…some very clever clues and nothing obscure, so a big thumbs up!

39. Pleased to have got there thanks for help with the parsing on quite a few! I did like 13a

40. Oof!
    Furrowed brows at the Reform Inn; we called Derek in from the Green Man and he helped crack it open by giving us 18d, but most clues felt earned rather than solved.
    It was nice for a change, but I wouldn’t want that every day.

41. Needed the hints to parse 16a and 23d. Last to fall was the NW however on completion I couldn’t see why and finished at a bit of a canter. Lots to like and nothing to dislike. Favourite was 22a. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr. K.

42. Not sure about 27a. I thought that “glut” was a noun and “engorge” a verb but I am ready to be corrected. Comments welcome.

    1. Funnily enough, I did check this point when compiling the puzzle.

       Chambers gives “glut” as both a noun and a verb (as does Collins).

    2. Glut is also a verb according to Chambers.

       1. Thank you Silvanus and Shabbo. I do of course defer to Chambers and Collins though I cannot recall ever having heard or seen “glut” used as a verb.

43. It’s Friday. It was tricky. It was a real challenge. It was great.
    Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

44. I’m new to comments but have done this crossword for years . I sit in the pub and enjoy a couple of pints and hope to finish it . As usual on a Friday I come up a little bit short but was surprised with today’s struggling with only about 4 . But it was enjoyable and keeps my brain active. And even at my age I seem to be improving!!!

    1. Welcome to the blog, MartinN,
       Now that you’ve introduced yourself I hope that you’ll become a regular commenter.

45. I did enjoy today’s clues many of which read with amusingly smooth surfaces. A few words were in an unusual context and the synonyms came obviously straight out of a Thesaurus. The NE was the stickiest patch. Fav was 11a. Thank you Silvanus and MrK

46. I rarely comment but today’s puzzle was most unpleasing. Clues , whilst needing to promote thought, should provide some amusement not lead one to believe that one has lost ability to reason.

47. Got them all but had to check the hints to understand 10 and 16a and 23d. In 16a “base” also might just mention “e” (the natural logarithm base, which we’ve seen used like this before).

48. This one was clearly for the grown-ups, “Know your place Graymatta……know your place”.
    So it was back to being an apprentice and thank you Mr K for your hints, of which I made full use 🙏. Would love to peek inside setter’s brain. Clearly more superior grey matter than in my own…..

49. Only just finished this crossword today! No chance to start yesterday. Well, this really stretched my solving powers – needed to look for explanations for four or five of the clues, so thanks to Mr K. However, what a sense of achievement when I finished. I did find it difficult, but I really enjoyed the challenge and hopefully it’s improved my solving techniques. It’s great to have a variety of puzzles so a big thank you to Silvanus and happy weekend to all.

50. Thanks Mr K Loved the hint for 18d and Emerson Lake and Palmers performance in the snow. I’d forgotten just how good they are (were?)

51. 5*/4* ….
    liked 4D “Bird keen to eat maggots occasionally (7)”

52. I seldom comment because I’m always so far behind that my thoughts always seem irrelevant at such a remove. However, as I go against just about everyone else, I just wanted to say that I enjoyed this one and completed it in ** time – and I’m by no means a Toughie solver (I remember in 2020 when I sat for days with a Toughie, pondering and pondering each clue before looking at the hint for it, then pondering some more before finally revealing the answer; often even with the answer and the hint I couldn’t fathom the clue).

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